Local:
Florida Announces I-75 Widening Project for Naples and Fort Myers
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has approved a project to widen an 18.5-mile stretch of I-75 from Golden Gate Parkway to Corkscrew Road from six to eight lanes. The project is scheduled to begin in 2026 according to the Fort Myers News Press.
The stretch of road has long suffered from severe congestion during rush hours with commuters experiencing often standstill traffic.
The project is one of many of the Florida Department of Transportation’s Moving Florida Forward initiative which aims to improve infrastructure across the state.
The project has been given $578 million in funding and is estimated to reduce congestion by 47%.
State:
7-year-old Boy Seriously Injured by a Falling Drone during Christmas Drone Show
During an Orlando Christmas drone show Saturday, a 7-year-old suffered serious injuries requiring emergency heart surgery after a drone malfunction caused a crash.
The show, which took place at Lake Eola Park, involved many small lit drones where Orlando Fire Department claims “technical difficulties” occurred, leading to the crash. This was the second time the park had hosted the drone show.
The incident is currently under investigation by the FAA. These light events are required to be approved by the FAA before occurring according to NBC. This includes flight patterns, crown distribution as well as other important details.
The 7-year-old is still hospitalized at the time of writing.
National:
Trump Announces Plan to Rename Tallest American Mountain Back to McKinley from Current Name Denali
After being named Denali by former President Barack Obama, Donald Trump is promising to bring the mountain back to it’s original name when he takes office in January.
The Mountain was initially named McKinley by a gold prospector in 1896 who admired the then president McKinley for his support of the gold standard.
In 2015, Obama renamed it to Denali, meaning “the high one” which was the name Alaskan natives had for the 20,000 foot peak according to The Guardian. The reasoning for the decision was that president McKinley had no “significant historical connection” to the mountain or Alaska.
